"I'm available to Clay and to Seattle as I've always been,” Stern said. "I would say I'm completely available. But there's a lease to be honored. There's a court deciding whether that lease can be honored by payment or has to be honored by the team being physically there.
"I would say that there are pros and cons to the timing of the move, but on balance we would recommend to Clay (Bennett) and the ownership group that they negotiate in good faith if there's another party to negotiate with for a monetary settlement of the terms of the lease and possibly beyond for the benefit of Seattle. And I would be willing to participate in that if I could be constructive.”
Seattle officials recently rejected a $26 million buyout offer by Bennett's group but some government leaders said they remain open to negotiations. Bennett declined to address the issue Tuesday during a press conference, leaving Stern to say, "And Clay agrees” with his statements.
Stern said one positive he sees in the Sonics remaining in Seattle until 2010 is the NBA has been assured that the recently approved $121 million in Ford Center renovations and construction of a new NBA practice facility would be complete before the Sonics arrived.
New Jersey Nets part owner and relocation committee member Lewis Katz said it is the league's hope that Seattle officials reach a deal with Bennett's group.
"My hope is that we'll find a settlement with Seattle that will give them the opportunity to have a replacement team,” Katz said. "Seattle should have an NBA team. And I think David expressed that in the meetings. We all feel that way. So my guess is you haven't heard the end of the Seattle story.”
Stern, who has long been perceived as doing little to prevent the Sonics from relocating, spoke up Seattle's market Tuesday.
"I think Seattle's actually a terrific market,” Stern said. "It just doesn't have an NBA-ready arena of the future that's been agreed to by all parties for many years. It's a very strong market that has in fact supported NBA basketball well over the years.”
Stern said Oklahoma City currently has more in its favor.
"When you come to a place like Oklahoma, you look for the single-team market as opposed to, for example a market that has three or more major professional sports leagues in it,” Stern said. "You look for that, you look for a kind of support that Mayor (Mick) Cornett has spearheaded really for years before we brought the Hornets here. And then you look for a statement from the fans which are here with respect to the Hornets support which I think the committee believes can be extrapolated to their own team and the array of support.”
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Jill wrote: "What I never said was that it's 'not an emotional issue' for people in Seattle" Yes you did, you wrote just a couple of posts below that: "I've NOT read anything that makes me think it's that EMOTIONAL an issue for most people up there" Correct me if i misunderstood what you were trying to say, but it sure looks like you said it.
Again Jill you know nothing about Seattle and should shut up. If you had a clue you would have known that I-91 was written and finance by a person who does not even live in Seattle. A man who spent a lot of his own money to fund the vote. To not put any blame on Bennett means you are either sleeping with him or he pays your salary. He said he was going to keep the team in Seattle, his partner said that was not the plan form the beginning. He said the Key was not good enough to play in before he had ever seen the arena, You can defend him all you want. But don't you ever speak about how we in Seattle feel, you don't know. But you were right about something 2 years is not 41 years. People like you give OKC a bad name.
You are right, Robert. I have no clue how people in Seattle think. I was basing it on comments I've read, recognizing that there are almost 4 million people in the city, and that none of us, including you, probably has a clue what a lot of those 4 million people think. I-91 gave us a bit of a window into what some of the people there think, however, and I'm just sorry you all didn't get to vote as a city on an arena, because that would have been the real test of how committed the city is to keeping the Sonics. That's a failure of your politicians, however, not Clay Bennett. I don't have a clue what the majority of people in Oklahoma City think either. What I never said was that it's "not an emotional issue" for people in Seattle. I'm sure, for the basketball fans, it's a HUGE emotional issue. I'm actually very sympathetic, although people from Seattle posting here and telling us what we should think is just as annoying as people from OKC posting on the Seattle forums must be. At least I'm sticking to an OKC forum to state my thoughts, and not subjecting people from Seattle to my opinions on their forums. Were I living in Seattle, and as much of an NBA fan as I am, I'd support any team located there. Of course, I was one of the people who missed Hornets games only if I was out of town, despite knowing they were leaving and that it was due only to the intransigence of David Stern on that issue. I could have been angry and said I'd never support another NBA team as well, but I'd be delighted to have one here. I recognize that two years is not the same as 40, but there were plenty of people upset that the Hornets were leaving and refused to go to games. Thank heavens it didn't seem to affect how they voted.
Jill, www.okcthunderfans.com - Mar 27, 2008 at 10:25 am
Jill you have no clue how people in Seattle think. I can tell you that if the Sonics leave (and I think they will), It will be a hard sell to get anyone to support the return of the NBA. You can't take something from a city that they had for 41 years and think people will ever be ok with it. I had season tickets for 26 years, most of the people in the section I sit in have had their tickets for at least 10 years, I can tell you most won't ever support the NBA again. We are not buying the WNBA tickets for next year, not because we don't support that team, it's because we won't support anything to do with the NBA. My company does business all over the country and part of our entertainment budget is taking clients to sporting events. Next year the memos already gone out that says no NBA games. That will effect other teams and other cities not just Seattle. When you say it's not an emotional issuues for us, tell that to the 100 of kids who attend each game, or wait for hours to meet the players at the few community events they have held this year. Do us a favor Jill don't talk about how we feel you have NO CLUE.
Didn't anyone read the numerous articles where it said these improvements are ALL about the NBA? Not concerts or other events (yes those will happen too) but they are NOT the reason for the improvements. The Ford was built from the very beginning to get a professional team...the improvements are designed to "lure" an NBA team. I am still waiting for someone, anyone to please explain how these improvements (or the lack thereof) will have ANY effect? What about improved bathrooms, improved finishes on the floors/ceiling/walls, a family fun zone, luxury seating, reservation only high priced restaurants, roof top gardens, team offices, team locker rooms, an NBA television studio etc is going to get some artist for a concert we haven't gotten before or keep an artist from coming back (if the vote had failed)? What do these improvements have to do with attracting events? How can we attract "bigger or better" anything when we aren't increasing seating capacity? After the improvements we will fall from #14 to #21 as NBA arenas go. We outgrew the Ford as evidenced by the numerous sold out concerts since the 1st one. Further evidenced by the numerous sold out Hornets games and near sell-outs (all for a temporary team). Am amazed that anyone really believes that the Ford is going to last for another 10 to 15 years (as the Mayor contends).
WOW..."It [Seattle] just doesn't have an NBA-ready arena of the future that's been agreed to by all parties for many years." Really? The Key Arena was built to the specifications of the NBA, its lease was generated when Stern was Commissioner, and the Key is just a few years older than the Ford. Exactly when did it become non "NBA-ready"? Don't have the article in front of me, but the Key was described as one of the best NBA arenas in the league when it opened 12 some years ago. Not a surprise really since the same thing happened with the Ford. It went from being called "state of the art" and other glowing terms even when the Hornets were here...started being called "adequate" in the past year or so (shortly after the Sonics were purchased). Guess we can get ready for the Ford to be in the same situation as the Key is now when it reaches its 12th birthday...about 5 years after the improvements are completed and the Ford is "state of the art" again (sorry, those are the Mayor's words, not mine).
Leonard, I think the attitude of more Seattleites is "If it's going to cost me, I don't care if we have the NBA or not." I've not read anything that makes me think it's that emotional an issue for most people up there. If they get an NHL team, it doesn't mean there won't be people who pine for the NBA either. They are of a size where they could probably support 4 professional teams. The problem will continue to be funding for an arena, as their other stadiums will be needing renovations one of these days, and the Huskies will probably come calling in Olympia again.
Jill, www.okcthunderfans.com - Mar 27, 2008 at 6:07 am
Jeffrey, if history is any indication, you might ultimately be right and Seattle may cave in and join the long list of cities who just HAVE to get a team back at any cost. However if you get a feel for the current mood in Seattle from the media reports, forums etc, this situation may be an exception to the rule. If I were to summarize it, the attitude of most Seattleites (outside of the Save Our Sonics crowd, God bless them) right now is "The NBA is dead to me if this happens". When you factor in the political climate up there, which does reflect public attitudes more than David Stern would ever admit, the NBA may have to wait a long, long time before they will ever be welcomed back to Seattle. I think some NBA owners are starting to catch on to that and are realizing they may ultimately lose the 12th largest market, permanently, very possibly to the NHL, at Seattle's choice. Will see.
PHOENIX -- NBA commissioner David Stern warned Thursday that if the SuperSonics leave Seattle he sees no way the league would ever return to the city.
"I'd love to find a way to keep the team there," he said, "because if the team moves, there's not going to be another team there, not in any conceivable future plan that I could envision, and that would be too bad."
At a news conference following his announcement that the 2009 All-Star Game would be held in Phoenix, Stern criticized the city of Seattle and the Washington legislature for its handling of the issue of funding a replacement for Key Arena.
Stern repeated earlier criticism of the mayor and city council for promoting a measure, overwhelmingly passed by voters, that requires any funds to help build an arena earn money at the same rate as a treasury bill.
This is how Stern plans to help Seattle, but now he begging Seattle to let Bennett out of his lease. It's not going to happen and Stern is the reason why.
I agree Jeffrey. "Lock up your wallets"? Robert, don't be foolish. We've already opened our wallets to the tune of 120 mil and I'm willing to pay more, if necessary, for improvements to the Ford Center. Not for the NBA; for OKC. This isn't just about the NBA; it's about MAJOR events coming to OKC. Major concerts, major sporting events (other than the NBA); ya'll get your heads out of your butts and think outside the box. It's NOT only about the NBA, although we will have a team b4 2010; bet on it.
Right Robert, Just like Baltimore, Cleveland, and St. Louis were done with the NFL. Just like DC was done with Major Leauge Baseball. Seattle will realize the mistake they made, pass legislation to publicly fund a 300+ million facility and get the next team looking to break its lease, probably Memphis. You will do exactly what you swore you wouldn't. Too bad you had to learn the hard way.
Again steve, are you posting anti-semitic remarks? The only link between the four people you have mentioned is their religion, as far as I can tell. I think your remarks are bigoted and disgusting.
Jill, www.okcthunderfans.com - Mar 26, 2008 at 12:10 pm
Stern's goal in life is to join the ranks of Ben Siegel, Meyer Lansky, and Julius Rosenberg. He is a con artist as are his buddies McClendon, Bennett and Cornett. What a complete disgrace this all is.
If Stern wants a quick exsit from Seattle, he should have kept his mouth shut. All his negative comments about our city, state the the fans here will come back to bite him. If they move the team (and I think they will), the NBA is done here the bad feelings won't go away for a long time. The NBA has Stern to thnak for that, he has wreaked the league. The best thing for Seattle is if Stern and the NBA leave in 2010 and never come back.
I won't blast Stern about what he says in this article because Seattle needs him right now to keep a basketball team in Seattle. I just think it is funny that he has spent the last year ripping Seattle apart and stirring the pot and now once to come across as the hero.
It comes down to OKC is a better ho than Seattle. All new NBA cities go through the honeymoon and eventually realize they aren't better off. It will be the same here.
I think Seattle's actually a terrific market,” Stern said. "It just doesn't have an NBA-ready arena of the future that's been agreed to by all parties for many years. It's a very strong market that has in fact supported NBA basketball well over the years.”
Another lie from Stern he told everyone at the All Star game Seattle would not get another team. This is who you are now doin business with. lock up your wallets.
Leader of the Sonics owenership group Clay Bennett, left, NBA commissioner David Stern, center and Mayor Mick Cornett field on Tuesday in Oklahoma City. BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN
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